Most modern vehicles employ automatic dimming mirrors as standard equipment. It is been recognized that these devices increase driving safety by eliminating glare that can impair vision. Such devices generally employ a forward looking sensor that detects low ambient light from headlights behind the vehicle and directs the rearview sensor to look for glare. The mirror darkens automatically in proportion to how bright the glare is and then clears once the glare is no longer detected. This technology, called electrochromics applies electricity in order to tint glass through a low-voltage power supply. Electricity moves through the electrochromic gel placed between two pieces of glass during manufacture which have been treated with an electrically conductive coating.
In order to function, automatic dimming mirrors must be powered. They generally draw power from the 12 V battery that the vehicle employs for its general automotive use. All such mirrors also make a wiring harness available to a user either by directly exposing the wiring harness connector or by including the wiring harness connector within the outer plastic shell of the mirror or the connector between the mirror and its supporting substructure.
The vast majority of drivers are increasingly making use of aftermarket devices which require electrical power to enable them to function. Although many of such devices run on battery power, the better solution is to employ an external power source to avoid loss of functionality as batteries degrade over time. The most ideal power source is, again, the 12 V supply also generated from the automotive battery. Unfortunately, unless care is taken to establish the appropriate electrical connection between the 12 V power supply and aftermarket device, a user is faced with unsightly power lines generally established from the typical cigarette lighter outlet or as a result of running a power cord from the interior of the vehicle into the engine compartment and directly to the 12 V source.
A solution to this dilemma has been to employ a relatively short power cord having, at one end, a plug for interfacing with the aftermarket device and the other end having a pair of male connectors for joining with the female ports of the mirror's wiring harness connector. Unfortunately, however, mirror wiring harness connectors are devoid of any established sizing standard such that a user does not know whether the male connectors of his or her power cord will be appropriately sized to be received and frictionally retained by the ports of the wiring harness connector in his or her vehicle.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a kit for powering an aftermarket device from a wiring harness connector available to the interior of a vehicle such as an automatic dimming mirror harness which is capable of successfully addressing the obstacles preventing its universal adoption.
It is yet a further object to the present invention to provide a kit for powering an aftermarket device capable of being used with a wiring harness connector available to the interior of a vehicle such as automatic dimming mirror harness connectors with ports of varying sizes.
These and further objects be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.